Legislator Ken Jenkins works the room at the Democratic Victory Breakfast at the VIP Club in New Rochelle. / Lisa Ganga/The Journal News

Written by

Westchester’s town- and city-level Democratic Party officials may never again get as much attention as they will in the next few months.

They’ll be the ones to decide which of three candidates gets to represent the party against Republican County Executive Rob Astorino in the fall and the candidates will be working furiously to gain their support.

As many as 500 Democratic district leaders, officials and candidates gathered at their annual Victory Breakfast at the VIP Country Club in New Rochelle on Sunday morning to hear from the county executive candidates and cheer on officials elected last year.

The three candidates, Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins, Legislator Bill Ryan, D-White Plains, and New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, have agreed to accept the results of a party convention in the spring and not wage a primary.

That throws open the vote to about 1,200 Democratic district leaders, said Ron Stokes, the co-chairman of the Yorktown Democratic Committee.

“I think that’s meaningful because it gives everyone, down to the infantrymen, a vote,” he said. Many years the executive committee makes the selection, he said.

Stokes, who is running for a judgeship on the Westchester County Court, said the most critical criterion for choosing a candidate is the ability to win in November.

Many attendees at the breakfast were upfront about their choice, wearing Noam Bramson stickers. Andy Laub, an Ardsley district leader, said Bramson has done a great job running New Rochelle, a large and diverse city. Laub supported the decision to avoid a primary.

“We really want to take the fight to Rob Astorino,” he said. Astorino, he said, has brought a Tea Party philosophy to Westchester.

When it was the candidates’ chance to speak, they asked for support. Bramson said Astorino has neglected his responsibilities and doesn’t share the values of many in Westchester.

“There is no principle, no purpose, no goal, only a philosophy that looks at the challenges we face in common and need to confront together and says, ‘that’s not my problem. That’s your problem,’ ” he said.

Jenkins said while taxes have continued to rise, the quality of life in the county has gone down.

“It’s time for us to stop looking around, get energized, get motivated and get focused because we’re all fired up and we’re ready to go,” he said.

Ryan agreed the most important thing is choosing the candidate who can win in November.

“There are thousands and thousands and thousands of people in Westchester County who need the help of government,” he said. “And the plain and simple truth is that this county executive doesn’t give a damn.”

A spokeswoman for the Astorino campaign said he will continue to focus on governing for the time being.